Writer: Sarah Mohammed
It was blank before you started to wash and order your brushes; free of colours before you began to mix the desired tones on your palette; titanium white before the first drops of scarlet red fell onto it, to contrast the emptiness of its uneven surface. It was you who chose with which colour to start and with which one to end; you decide whether to scream or to paint in silence, you decide whether to stop or to go on.
Even multiple layers of the most opaque white would not have the ability to cover the black spots, and if they did, they would leave an exposing bump behind. Furthermore, it has always been easier to go from light to dark, but a huge struggle to move the other way around, shadows followed the positions of light.
The thinnest line of smallest significance requires an excessive load of patience and a mind-boggling amount of strength.
The fact that the final result will always differ from the precise vision you had in your mind, should neither be destruction nor a discouragement. It is uneasy to forget that the smallest gaffe could ruin everything, making all the effort worthless, without any value. If you gave up on the first painting, it is not too late to have another try, but time is limited. Who guarantees that your piece of art will be complete before the deadline? Who tells you whether it would be worth a risk or if rescuing whatever is left of what you gave up on would be the better solution?
No one. You solely are the deciding painter of the canvas of life.
